Water heating attachment for cold water pipes



Nov. 18, 1958 J. c. LATORRE RODRIGUEZ WATER HEATING ATTACHMENT FOR CQLDWATER PIPES FiledJuly 31, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Juazz C.LatorreHOdrziQuQS BY I y I a 7 ATTORNEY Nov. 18, 1958 J. c. LATORRE RODRIGUEZWATER HEATING ATTACHMENT FoR cow WATER PIPES Filed July 51. 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jizan C. Laiorre Rodriuea BY a 2 7 I V 7ATTORNEY United, States Patent WATER HEATING ATTACHMENT FOR COLD WATERPIPES Juan C. Latorre Rodriguez, Palmira, Colombia Application July 31,1957, Serial No. 675,494 8 Claims. (Cl. 219-39) This invention relatesto unitary water-heating attachments for cold water pipes.

One of the objects is to make such an attachment con- I nectible at onepoint only to a single pipe so as to minimize the labor and expense ofinstalling it. Another object is to simplify the construction-so that asingle manually operated valve will shut off the water 'or will turn oncold water, or warm water, or hot water as selected by the operator.Anotherobject is to arrange in certain positions.

ject is to provide a simplified electrical control for an electric waterheater. A still further object is'to shield the electrical controlelements yet make them readily accessible. The invention also provides avery easily oper-: "ated and safe electrical control and an easilyoperated valve control; both controls being easily seen, reached andoperated even when the user is somewhat blinded by water from a shower.The attachment of the invention is useful not only in certain types ofbathrooms but also in camps, hunting and fishing lodges, in countryhomes, and wherever hot water is needed but a high installation cost isto be avoided.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speeification- Fig.1 is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation on a larger scale, viewing the opposite sideof the device, parts being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view on the scale of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing the valve unit, the safety valve,the valve-operating handle and the upper :part of the tank; theelectrical switch being omitted;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section showing the valve unit, the electricalswitch, the thermostat and associated parts;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section showing the valve unit, the safety valve,the upper part of the tank etc., the electrical elements being omitted,the section being at right angles to that of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a detail in side elevation showing particularly the thermostaton the valve chamber;

Fig. 8 is a detail in side elevation showing particularly the electricalswitch on the valve chamber;

Figs. 9 and 10 are diagrams showing valve positions; and

Fig. 11 is a detail in perspective of one of the two casing or shellparts that enclose the switch etc.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the preferred form of unitarywater-heating shower attachment of my invention comprises a tank 15, ashower unit 16, a source of heat '17 for the water 18 in the tank, aswitch 19 controlling the source of heat, a valve unit or assembly 20controlling the water flow out of shower unit 16, and a pipe 21 coupledas at 22 to a cold water supply pipe 23. The entire shower attachment issupported, or is capable of being supported, by supply pipe 23 alone.

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The tank 15 is preferably cylindrical, and has its longitudinal axisextending vertically when the attachment is fixed to supply pipe 23.Tank 15 is preferably of rust-proof metal or has a corrosion-resistantlining (not shown) and preferably has a layer of heat-insulatingmaterial (not shown) to retain the heat of its water content and also tominimize the likelihood of burns arising from contact of the skin withits walls. The tank may have a plug in its lower end to facilitatecleaning out its interior (not shown). It may have a capacity of about.2 gallons (about 7.6 liters).

The shower unit 16 shown in the drawings is merely by way ofillustration, and any other form of shower unit may be used. It includesa shower head 24 screwed on the lower end of a fitting 25, said fittingbeing fixed to and receiving the discharge of two pipes 26,27 which arecurved in like curves and are uniformly spaced apart. Pipes 26, 27 areconnected at their intake ends to a fitting 28 which is screwed into oneend of a valve chamber 29 best shown in Fig. 6. See also Figs. 4 and 5.

The source of heat could be a kerosene or gasoline or gas burner, butpreferably is an electric heating coil 30 of the immersion type,preferably arranged with the coils formed in a spiral whose axis isvertical, coinciding with the vertical axis of the cylindrical tank 15.The coil 30 is not shown in detail because its precise constructionforms no part of my invention. Current is conducted to coil 30 by wires31 (Figs. 2 and 4) leading from a source of electricity. Switch 19 isinterposed between the source of electricity and the heating coil, andwill be described in more detail later on. Switch 19 has its operatingshaft 32 fixed to a grooved wheel 33, providing the necessary leveragefor easy operation of the switch. A pair of chains 34, 35 are secured attheir upper ends as by solder to the top of wheel 33 and hang downtherefrom on each side, with rings 36, 37 fixed on their lower ends.Loops 38, 39 secured to the sides of tank 15 near its top may serve asguides for chains 34, 35. A pointer 40 fixed to a casing 41 is centeredover the axis of wheel 33 and a legend (On 01f, see Fig. 1) may bepainted or stamped or otherwise marked on the wheel in properrelationship to the pointer 40 to indicate which chain to pull to turnswitch 19 on and which chain will turn it off when pulled. The heatingcoil 30 is located slightly above the bottom of the tank, surroundingwater inlet pipe 42, which is supported centrally of the tank and hasits discharge end just below the lowest coil 30. Thus the incoming coldwater contacts the highly heated coil or coils 30, is heated, and risesto the top of the tank.

The valve assembly 20 includes a screw plug 43 screwed into the top ofthe tank and brazed or otherwise secured to the upper end of inlet pipe42, thus supporting that pipe in the center of the tank. Valve chamber29 is secured to and may be integral with screw plug 43; see Figs. 4 and6. Valve chamber 29 is essentially a T-shaped fitting, having one arm29*- with screw threads 29 to couple the pipe 21 (hence the cold watersupply) to the shower unit. An oppositely extending arm 29 has screwthreads 29 into which fitting 28 is screwed, so that water may bedelivered to the shower unit described above, after passing through thevalve assembly. A tube 44 is fixed in screw plug 43 and passes throughit, being open at its lower end to the interior of the tank. The upperend of tube 44 passes through the wall of arm 29 of valve chamber 29 andthus may discharge hot water displaced from the tank into the pipes 26,27 and the shower head 24. It will be noted that this hot waterinitially enters the lowest part of arm 29 As will presently be seen,cold water enters arm 29 at the top (Fig. 6), the result being there isa commingling of the two currents of water in arm 29 due to convectionand the pressure of the flowa shower.

understood from Figs. and 7. shell or casing 41, preferably in twocomplemental parts ing water. This mixing takes place automatically andIS an important feature of my invention.

Located centrally in valve chamber 29 and arranged to turn on a verticalaxis is a valve plug assembly 45 which may be of bronze and has afrusto-conical shape to fit surround valve stem 46, the gland 49 beingscrewed into a counterbore in the top of nut 47 so as to make a tightseal. Nut 47 obviously holds the valve plug properly seated. At itsupper end, valve stem 46 is flattened on opposite sides, as indicated at51, and a valveoperating handle or lever 52 has a loop 53 surroundingthe upper flattened end 51. A nut 54 secures the handle 52, said nuttightening loop 53 against a shoulder 55. The handle or lever provides along arm that is curved to conform generally to the outer surfaces ofthe shower attachment and extends down alongside the tank but slightlyspaced therefrom; see Figs. 2 and 3.

A generally U-shaped strip of metal 56 is riveted or otherwise securedto the outside of the tank near the top, extending about two-thirds ofthe way around the tank as shown in Fig. 3. The ends of the strip ofmetal 56 are curled to form the chain-guiding loops 38, 39 alreadymentioned. On the outer surface of this strip of metal various legendsmay be stamped or otherwise marked, to guide the user of the device whentaking These legends might read Closed, Cold, Tepid, Warm, Very hot, inthe order given, reading from right to left as the parts are viewed inFig. 2.

A safety valve 57 is mounted on the upper end of the valve stem, beingsecured by screw threads 58 in a counterbore in the upper end of thevalve stem. Needle valve 59, which is a part of the safety valve, isseated on a seat 60 disposed at the upper end of a bore 61 in the safetyvalve body. A series of lateral ports 62 are provided in the safetyvalve body surrounding the seat 60. Needle valve 59 is fixed to thecenter of and depends from a weight 63, which holds the needle valvenormally seated. Weight 63 may have some ornamentation, such asknurling, not shown, and a lift ring 64 facilitates removing it whendesired. This safety valve lifts when the shower head is stopped up orwhen the unit has not been installed properly; and when it lifts, waterflows in a jet stream out of the top of the unit,

giving an unmistakable signal that the apparatus is not Other types ofsafety valves may be in working order. used in lieu of the onedescribed.

The electrical switch 19 and the thermostat 66 are shown in Figs. 5, 8and 7. The switch is preferably of the toggle type and per se forms nopart of my invention. Its operating shaft 32, as previously explained,is moved by pulling on one chain 34, or the other chain, 35. Insulation,not shown, is provided to mount the switch 19 safely on the metal valvechamber 29, and insulated wires 67, 68 connect the switch in circuitwith thermostat 66, fixedly mounted on the opposite side of the valvechamber. The thermostat per se is not a part of my invention. It is asafety device which acts automatically to open the circuit of theheating coil 30 whenever the temperature of the valve chamber rises to apredetermined point. The thermostat lies directly against a wall of themetallic valve chamber near the point where the hot water enters fromthe tank, as will be A metallic globular for convenience in assemblingand disassembling, en-

" closes the switch 19 and thermostat 66 and protects those parts fromthe water, which might cause short 4 circuits. Fig. 11 shows one of thetwo complemental parts of shell 41.

To start the unit, switch 19 is closed and the device is allowed to heatup for ten minutes before drawing any water. As the valve is moved fromthe closed position (Fig. 9), cold water is first discharged through theshower head, by-passing the tank entirely. As the valve is moved furtherby its handle 52, it will assume the position shown in Fig. 6, whereinsome cold water flows through port 70 in the valve and other cold waterflows down through port 71 into the tank, being discharged at the bottomof the tank against the extremely hot heating coil or coils 30. Theheated water rises and flows out through tube 44, mixing automaticallywith the cold water in the' arm 29 as already explained. Further turningof the valve causes less cold water proportionately to be mixed, hencethe temperature of the shower water will rise. When the valve is movedto its extreme position, no cold water is mixed, all the cold waterflowing into the tank and displacing the hot water therein, causingdelivery of hot water from the tank directly to the shower head.Continuous delivery of hot water is assuredbecause the heating coilbecomes extremely hot and vaporizes the cold water that strikes it.Actually, the valve is seldom if ever moved to its extreme position forbathing purposes, as the two gallons of Water in the tank should bemixed with three and one-half to four gallons of cold water forcomfortable bathing.

While I have described one embodiment of the invention in considerabledetail, I wish it to be understood that many modifications may be madewithin the scope of. the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A unitary water-heating shower attachment for cold water pipes whichis connectible at one point only to a cold water supply pipe and whichhas means built into it for heating water, and other means built into itfor controlling the flow of water out of it, said other means consistingof a manually movable single valve which is constructed and arranged topermit cold water, or warm water, or hot water to be discharged from theattachment, the temperature of the discharged water being determined bythe position of the valve.

2. A portable electric water-heating attachment for cold water pipescomprising, in combination, an electrical water-heating unit; a switchfor controlling energization of said unit; a tank surrounding saidheating unit; a cold water inlet pipe connectible to a cold water supplypipe and discharging water adjacent said heating unit; said tank beingadapted to hold a substantial volume of water which is in direct contactwtih said heating unit; a discharge pipe; a tube directly connecting theupper end of the tank with the discharge pipe; and a single manuallyoperated valve having a bypass, said valve being connected to the coldwater supply pipe and to the tank through said cold water inlet pipe,and also being connected to the discharge pipe, and controlling fiow ofcold water into the tank and fiow of cold water by-passing the tank; thehot water displaced from the tank by the incoming cold water flowingthrough said tube directly into said discharge pipe and there minglingwith any cold water that may be flowing through the bypass, as permittedby the position of said valve.

3. A water-heating attachment for cold water pipes comprising, incombination, a tank having an inlet connectible with a cold water supplypipe, and an outlet; water discharge means coupled to said outlet; asource of heat operatively associated with said tank and adapted to heatwater in said tank; operator-controlled means for controlling the sourceof heat; a valve assembly mounted adjacent the inlet and a tube directlyconnectbeing so constructed and arranged that flow of cold waterdirectly to said outlet and by-passing the tank is permitted, orcontrolled flow of cold water mingled with hot water from the tank, ordirect flow of heated water from the tank alone; and operator-controlledhandle means attached to said valve and disposed immediately adjacentthe outer walls of the tank for controlling by means of its position thetemperature of water discharged from the attachment.

4. A unitary water-heating attachment for cold water pipes comprising,in combination, a pipe adapted to be coupled to a cold water supplypipe; a tank coupled to and receiving cold water from thefirst-mentioned pipe; a valve controlling flow of cold water from saidsupply pipe into said tank; a discharge means coupled to said valve andtank; said valve being constructed and arranged so as to by-pass thetank in one of its positions so that cold water flows from said supplypipe to said discharge means without passing through the tank; anoperating handle attached to said valve and permitting the operator tocontrol flow of water to said discharge means; a source of heat adaptedto heat water flowing through said tank, said source of heat being anelectric immersion-type heating coil inside the tank, a source ofelectricity being connected to said heating coil by wires, a switchbeing mounted on top of the tank but insulated therefrom and connectedin circuit, said switch having a grooved operating wheel fixed to itsshaft, and a pair of switch-operating chains fixed at their upper endsto the top of the grooved wheel and depending from said wheel onopposite sides so that pulling one chain will close the switch to causeheating of the water in the tank and pulling the other chain will opensaid switch.

5. The invention defined in claim 4, wherein the tank is cylindricalwith its longitudinal axis arranged vertical, and the valve is locatedabove the tank and arranged so as to turn on a vertical axis whichcoincides wtih the axis of the tank, the operator-controlled handlemeans that controls the valve being affixed at its upper end to thevalve spindle and extending down along the side of the tank.

6. A portable hot water supply attachment for cold water pipescomprising, in combniation, a cold water .6 supply pipe; a tank; asource of heat ope'ratively associated with said tank; means forcoupling the tank to the cold water pipe; a valve assembly and pipescontrolling flow of water from the cold water pipe into the bottom oftank and also permitting the cold water to bypass the tank; a waterdischarge means coupled to the valve as sembly; and conduit meansdirectly connecting the water discharge means with the top of the tankso that heated water displaced from the tank by incoming cold water willflow directly to the water discharge means without passing through thevalve assembly.

7. A unitary water-heating attachment for cold water pipes comprising,in combination, a tank; an electric immersion heater in said tank; acold water inlet pipe in said tank discharging water adjacent saidheater; a valve assembly and pipes controlling flow of water into saidinlet pipe and also by-passing the tank; said valve assembly beingmounted on top of the tank and secured thereto; water discharge meanscoupled to the valve assembly; an electric switch in circuit with saidheater and mounted on one side of the valve assembly; and a thermostatin circuit with said heater and mounted on the other side of said valveassembly and in contact with a wall thereof, said wall being of materialof good heat conductivity.

8. The invention defined in claim 7, wherein the switch, the thermostatand the valve assembly are all enclosed in a protective casing or shellwhich keeps water ofi the electrical parts, said casing or shell beingsplit so that it is easily removed for servicing of parts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,313,519 Clover Aug. 19, 1919 1,417,409 Ralph May 23, 1922 1,665,348Dineson Apr. 10, 1928 1,920,284 Wells Aug. 1, 1933 2,110,251 WolcottMar. 8, 1938 2,347,122 Peet Apr. 18, 1944 2,513,435 Tully et al. July 4,1950 2,694,768 Stiebel Nov. 16, 1954

